The first film, written and directed by Anderson, was created as a prequel to establish the cinematic world of the series from the video game. RESIDENT EVIL: Apocalypse delves deeper into the world created in the games with major action sequences that come from the unique genre of survival horror. “My personal belief is that for a sequel to succeed you can’t just use the same blueprint over again,” explains Anderson. “I knew going in that this had to be bigger, better and a different kind of film.”
In the first film, Alice (Jovovich) and Matt Addison (Eric Mabius) contained the Undead-spawning T-Virus in the underground facility known as “The Hive.” But now, not only has the monolithic Umbrella Corporation experimented on the only two survivors of that siege; it has unleashed the Undead in the open air of Raccoon City. “We’ve gone above ground and the danger and malevolence of the Umbrella Corporation is much more out there in the world – and far more toxic and dangerous,” says producer Don Carmody.
A rag-tag group of survivors led by Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira find that their odds for survival increase immeasurably when the newly regenerated and enhanced Alice joins their ranks. “Milla is the lynchpin of this film,” says Anderson. “There just would not be a second film without her. This was written for her – every action and every line of dialogue was written with her in mind.”
“Alice has survived the hideous experience in the Hive and emerged as a much more decisive character,” explains Jovovich. “She also has become an experiment of the Umbrella Corporation, a guinea pig in a sense, infected with the T-Virus. She doesn’t know what the consequences will be. All she knows is that through this experiment Umbrella has unwittingly given her a weapon that can take them on, and she is going to use it.”
Matching Alice in toughness is the game’s character Jill Valentine, played by Sienna Guillory. “You always want to play someone you’re going to have fun with, someone you want to be,” explains Guillory. “Jill’s got everything a girl wants to be – she dresses to kill, says whatever she wants and can shoot anyone between the eyes in a fifty-yard radius. She’s hard as nails and she’s great fun. And not at all afraid of being quite the sexy minx,” she adds with a laugh.
“I’m a huge fan of the game, and when I saw Sienna in her outfit, I started jumping up and down and clapping like a little girl,” Jovovich recalls. “In the game, she’s this tough girl with a mini skirt and a tube top. In the flesh, she’s got balls and attitude for days! And when she’s got a gun in her hand, you better run in the opposite direction. She absolutely looks like a human version of Jill but prettier and cooler. It’s amazing to me.”
Guillory feels Alice and Jill represent rare examples of tough women leading a film. “Alice and Jill are two strong women with their incredible arsenal of martial arts skills and guns,” she says. “When you have someone as incredibly beautiful as Alice and as sexy as Jill, and both can fight, it’s just a great dynamic. There’s a very obvious respect between the two characters.”
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